Chapter 23:

Katrina and Vincent avoided each other over the next week. She was still angry with him about ignoring her and defending his mother over Bo, and Vincent was still sorting out his feelings about what had happened in his childhood. He spent his time in his workshop, nervously tidying up the room or working on one of his paintings. Katrina followed Bo around Ambrose, learning to do things like fix the generator and change the oil in a car. She helped him inspect the area surrounding the town, searching for fresh victims and ensuring the town remained hidden.

In a way, Bo was glad for the company. Although he couldn't stand being around females for long, he did enjoy having someone to tease who would actually say something back to him and wouldn't just stand there and take it. He also found that he loved teaching her his favorite hobby . . . torture. Unbeknownst to Vincent, Bo had converted a small, run-down barn into a place where he could indulge in sadistic tastes of his own without having to turn the victims into wax later on. He would pick up female hitchhikers or prostitutes and bring them to the barn, where he would rape and torture the women over a period of days before killing her.

He decided to show her the barn as a sort of last test, to see if it would freak her out enough to try to leave. The idea came to him as they were leaving Lester's home . . . a small cabin deep in the woods about ten miles from Ambrose . . . and passed by a woman walking alone on the side of the road.

Bo side-glanced Katrina, who sat in the passenger's seat fiddling with her knife. "Do you know how to keep a secret, Kitty Kat?"

She looked over at him and smiled. "What kind of secret?"

"One from Vincent."

Her brows met in the center of her forehead. "Why?"

"It's a little somethin' I've been doin' for a while. A little project of my own."

"How come Vincent can't know."

"Just can you fuckin' keep a secret or not?"

Katrina frowned, but her girlish curiosity got the better of her. "I can. I promise."

Bo grinned at her. "All right." He turned the truck around.

"What are you doing?"

"Ask that girl if she wants a ride."

A smirk spread across her lips and her eyes widened with understanding. "Oh-ho." She smiled brightly and leaned out the truck window as Bo pulled up alongside the girl. "Hey there, sugar! Need a ride?"

The young woman, appearing to be in her late teens, looked up from under the brim of her wide cowboy hat. "Where y' goin'?"

Katrina glanced back at Bo. "We're going to Silverton."

The woman's brown eyes had a relieved look in them. "Thank goodness y'all came by. That's where I'm goin'."

"Well get on in," Katrina said, opening the door and getting out. "You ride bitch, I don't like doing it with my own brother."

The woman smiled uneasily, but nodded and slid into the middle seat.

"My name's Meredith," the woman said after settling herself into the truck. She brushed a mousy-brown lock of hair out of her face and grinned at Katrina and Bo.

"Nice to meet you, Meredith," Katrina said in a sugary tone. "I'm Kitty and this is my big brother Bo."

"Mind if I smoke?" Meredith asked, pulling a pack of Marlboro's out of her backpack.

"Not at all, if you share," Bo said, flashing a sexy smile at her.

"Sure." Meredith stuck three cigarettes into her mouth and lit them up before passing one to Bo and the other to Katrina.

Bo's eyebrow rose as he watched Katrina take a long drag of her cigarette. "You shouldn't be smokin', baby sister," he said with an amused look.

She stuck her tongue out at him and took another drag. "So what are you doing out here?" Katrina asked Meredith.

"I'm going to catch a bus over in Silverton," Meredith said happily. "I'm going out to California to visit my boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend's letting you walk that far?" Katrina asked.

Meredith's eyes widened a little. "He don't know I'm comin'. It's a surprise."

"Ohhhh!" Katrina exclaimed, winking at Meredith. "Did you bring any lingerie with you?"

"What?" Meredith asked, confused.

"Did you bring lingerie?"

Meredith's cheeks turned red. "Not that it's any of your business, but yeah."

"Not my business?" Katrina asked, looking over at Bo with exaggerated incredulity. "I'd say everything you do's my business, sugar. We are givin' you a ride, and all."

Meredith blinked once and leaned over Katrina to flick her cigarette out of the window. "You know what? I think I'm gonna walk."

Bo began to laugh. "What do you mean, darlin'?"

"I think I'll walk," Meredith repeated. "Let me out."

"I'm bein' nice here," Bo protested with a smirk.

"I want to walk. Let me out!" Meredith's wide chocolate eyes stared over at Bo, who grinned at her.

"But Kitty doesn't want you to leave," he said. "See?"

Meredith turned quickly to see Katrina pointing a gun at her face. She began to scream.

A/N: The next chapter will be pretty violent and very dark. If you're not supposed to read M rated stories DO NOT READ THE NEXT CHAPTER!!